Gujarat: Congress MP hits out at Hardik Patel after he quits party, says ‘words written by BJP’

Hitting out at Hardik Patel after he quit the grand old party, Congress MP Shaktisinh Gohil claimed that his allegations were scripted by the BJP.

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New Delhi: After Gujarat leader Hardik Patel quit the Congress party on Wednesday (May 18) writing a scathing letter to party chief Sonia Gandhi, the grand old party MP Shaktisinh Gohil claimed Patel’s allegations are scripted by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). "These are not allegations of someone who has quit Congress. These are all written down by the BJP. They just speak it out loud. Had the BJP not decided it, everyone`s words would not have been the same," Gohil was quoted as saying by ANI. The former Gujarat minister asked why the Patidar quota agitation leader did not raise his issues with the top brass before. "If you talk about party`s leadership, you were sharing a stage with Rahul Gandhi a few days back. Who stopped you from meeting him? We have internal democracy. There is a thin line between internal democracy and indiscipline. The BJP does not have internal democracy," the Congress MP said. 

Earlier today, Patel, who had joined the Sonia Gandhi-led party in 2019, resigned as the Gujarat Congress working president and from the party's primary membership. He was appointed as the state Congress working president in July 2020.

Taking to Twitter, Patel announced his resignation from the party, and wrote, "Today, after mustering courage, I am resigning from my party post and primary membership of the Congress. I hope my followers and people of Gujarat will welcome my step. I believe that I will be able to serve the state better after this step."

In a stinging letter to the Congress chief, Patel claimed that the grand old party "only played to the role of a roadblock" over many important issues in the country and was "merely reduced to opposing everything".

The 28-year-old leader alleged the prominent leaders of the Gujarat Congress are "far away" from issues of the state, adding that they are more focused on ensuring that "chicken sandwiches for leaders coming from Delhi are delivered on time", PTI reported. 

Patel’s resignation comes ahead of the upcoming Gujarat Assembly elections later this year. He had risen to the limelight in 2015 after he led the agitation seeking reservation for the Patidar community in the state.

(With agency inputs)